Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him praise his name. Psalm 100:4

Our natural nature is birthed in condemnation, which is self-centered. In that condition we can find ourselves easily angry, annoyed, irritated, criticized and shamed. In that condition giving thanksgiving and praise is something to do, which is just one more task along our journey. Grace changes the entire situation. It puts God's love right into the center of our lives and changes our values and who we are. In that condition, thanksgiving and praise is not one more thing to do, it is who we are. Living our journey in thanksgiving and praise to our Lord lets us encourage, bless, be considerate and esteem others as more important than ourselves. On this new day, may you absolutely enjoy his grace that has set you free from the control of your old nature. You will like this day and those around you will feel important, encouraged and refreshed. His grace lets thanksgiving and rejoicing just be who you are. Enjoy!

When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. Proverbs 10:19

Proverbs is known as a book of wisdom which is simply the ability to take understanding and knowledge and apply it appropriately to the situation we find ourselves in. How many quarrels would not have taken place in a marriage if only one would have remember how to speak in grace? How many business partnerships have ended because of so many words, that the friends that started off are no longer friends? How many times have churches had problems because someone started talking about what they did not like until they had a group and off they go to the leadership complaining and the impact on family, church and community is less than outstanding? Grace gives us the wisdom of God to speak in such a way as to handle things without condemnation and therefore finding solutions will give glory to God and a blessing to those who hear. On this new day may you enjoy the words of grace that express themselves through you. As you speak may those around you sense the kindness, patience and tolerance of the Lord because of the grace that is heard through you. You will be refreshed, blessed and full of thanksgiving. Those around you will feel secure and encouraged. Blessings upon you in the grace of God. Being overwhelmed by this grace is very freeing.

God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

There is something absolutely beautiful and enjoyable when we find ourselves in a place where we are loved and respected. In this place there is no stress, anxiety or feeling of walking on egg shells. We find ourselves relaxed and refreshed so that we have the freedom of expression, especially the giving of gifts of encouragement, blessings in the details of peoples lives and helping however we can, even financially. God's grace allows us the freedom to live this way 24/7. Wow! Talk about being refreshed! How about actually living in a place - no matter where we are found - where love is given and expressed without condemnation of any kind. Grace puts a smile in what we say and in what we do. On this new day, that has never been nor will come again, may you find yourself overwhelmed with his grace. Praise and thanksgiving will naturally flow from your mouth as well as your hands. What you find to do today will bring joy to you as well as everyone around you. God's grace just makes a good day and allows you to see and hear with new eyes and ears. Feel free to have tones in your voice and expressions from your face that cause others to be refreshed as you have by His grace.

Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people - none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NLT The nature of sin in us will produce by-products that at best are filthy. There has never been a family, a community, a state or a nations that has become refreshing when these things are the habit of its people. Grace comes in right at this point to remove sin's power and give us a freedom in our nature that will bring thanksgiving and delight. Grace is the power of God's love in Jesus the Christ to release us from habits that are filthy by nature and produce habits that have their foundation in God's love. On this new day may you allow the freedom of his grace to set you free from habits that do not bless you or anyone else. In his grace you have the right as sons and daughters to praise, bless and encourage through your actions and words. This freedom is now and forever yours because of his grace in you. Enjoy!

As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed them into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me. But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:38-42 NLT

Worship is that one thing that is needed for our good. It comes when we enjoy the Lord and live with an attitude of thanksgiving. For without these, there can be no worship of the Lord and therefore we will not sense his freedom of grace. What we experience is condemnation in all its forms, about others, about ourselves and at times even about the Lord. Worshiping the Lord puts all the details of life in proper perspective. On this new day may you allow his grace the freedom of expression through your words, your attitudes and your work. In this place there is no complaining, no stress and no mistrust. Here you will experience his freedom in all its forms and it is called grace.

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13 NLT

We are a nation about freedom. Yet as a nation we seem to be loosing our freedom and becoming enslaved to ourselves. It isn't just alcohol, drugs, food and sex, but also violence in attitude and actions along with all forms of greed. What is ironic is the more someone asserts his or her self-centered freedom, the more he or she becomes enslaved to sin. But there is a prescription for freedom by the grace of God. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36. This freedom of grace is not a belief system, it is a life that is called a new creation. Here the root of addiction is replace with a love for God, a love for yourself and a love for all who you meet. On this new day may you enjoy what God has given in and through Jesus the Christ. May your day be free so that your old habits and addiction are no longer who you are. Your freedom in Christ will bless you and everyone around you. Enjoy!

The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

One of the beautiful things along our journey through life is when we feel something and we feel it with all our heart. This is not an academic statement, it is something that touches the very fiber of our being. The beauty of God's grace is that it takes our belief in the Lord from the academic into a relationship with him that touches the very soul of who we are. Grace impacts our heart like nothing else can and in this place our desires and emotions become free to express love, kindness and encouragement without the feeling of embarrassment. Here our marriage, our children and our relationships are refreshed in ways that cause us to praise and give thanks to the Lord. On this new day that has been given to you as a gift from the Lord, may you enjoy this freedom of his grace. May your heart be refreshed and encouraged along this new journey and may he then give to you the desires of your heart as you delight yourself in his grace.

This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God's wonderful grace. Colossians 1:6 NLT

What a beautiful picture of the salvation that is given in Jesus the Christ. This is obviously not a religion or a set of standards by which we must prove ourselves to God. God's good news is his grace that renews thoughts, emotions and desires. Paul gave a hint of the power of God's grace in a man or woman's life when he wrote to the Galatians. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against these things. Galatians 5:22,23 NLT. This salvation which is here called - changed lives - brings freedom that makes new, you and your family. On this new day may you choose to enjoy a changed life given to you by the Lord, it will bless your socks off. There is nothing in all creation that will find fault with this new nature. So go ahead and live in the freedom that is yours because of Grace.

For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. Colossians 1:20-22 NLT

Many times along our journey through life we will hear someone say, "If God is so good why does he let bad things happen?" Well, bad things happen because that is the nature of sin. It is while we are living in this condition that God poured out his grace for us through the blood of Christ on the cross. Grace brings us to life so that we may believe, enjoy and love God and his Word instead of accusing him or fearing him. Grace by nature encourages, trusts and blesses by its nature and therefore relationship are strengthened and refreshed. On this new day may you enjoy who you are because of the grace of God. May your old habits from your old nature have no place to express themselves in or through you. May your very presence bring peace and blessing to all who come in contact with you. You are absolutely free to rejoice and delight yourself in the Lord.

So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him? Ecclesiastes 2:24,25

He gives us taste buds to enjoy and delight in eating and drinking. He gives us vision and hearing to enjoy and delight in his creation. He gives us his grace so that we may enjoy and delight in a relationship with him and others without feelings of insecurity. What happens in the noise and busyness of our time is that we have a tendency to forget that his grace is relational and refreshing. In those moments we forget who he is and who we are in him. On this new day may you find your self choosing to enjoy what is around you with a heart of thanksgiving to the Lord. Go ahead and bless everyone that you come in contact with and your life will be a fragrance that everyone delights in.